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Penny Pinchers Pinched: German Police Arrest 2 Suspects in 220-Pound Coin Heist

© AP Photo / Marcel MettelsiefenDec. 12, 2010 file photo shows the gold coin 'Big Maple Leaf' in the Bode Museum in Berlin
Dec. 12, 2010 file photo shows the gold coin 'Big Maple Leaf' in the Bode Museum in Berlin - Sputnik International
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German police have detained two suspects in the late-March theft of a 220-pound gold coin from a Berlin museum.

On Wednesday, commandos with the German police arrested two suspects believed to have been involved in the daring theft of a 220-pound Canadian commemorative gold coin from a Berlin museum in March.

A visitor to the Royal Canadian Mint looks at a 100 kg solid gold coin during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics - Sputnik International
Thieves in Berlin Used Old-School Tech to Steal Huge Gold Coin

At dawn on Wednesday some 300 police took part in raids on two apartments, as well as a jeweler's shop in Berlin and in several unnamed locations in the German state of Brandenburg, according to Business Insider.

Reports have suggested that the enormous Canadian commemorative coin was stolen to be melted down, as while it has a face value of $1 million, the market value based on the coin's 100-kilogram weight is just under $4 million.

Issued by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007, the coin is some 21 inches across and has a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in profile on one side and the Canadian Maple leaf on the other.

The giant coin was stolen from Berlin's Bode Museum, located near German Chancellor Angela Merkel's flat.

Surveillance footage posted by Berlin police in early July showed three men in dark clothes with faces obscured by hoodies and high collars conducting the daring theft.

A German police statement on Wednesday asserted that the two detained suspects were the same as those seen in the footage, and that the other raids were intended to secure additional evidence.

The statement made no mention of the whereabouts of the coin.

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